Alice Chambers |
Microsoft is showcasing how artificial intelligence, machine learning and the cloud are empowering governments to use innovative tools to develop smarter cities at Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2022, which is currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain.
The event is focusing on how businesses can use technology to build a resilient sustainable future and deliver trusted and secure infrastructure.
Among the 24,000 in-person attendees are representatives from Microsoft partners ABB, ClimateView, Schreder, Genetec, IDEMIA and AXON, all of which have been showcasing how their smart technology can empower cities and drive urban innovation.
Automation and energy management solutions provider ABB is highlighting its current ‘Mission to Zero’ initiative, which involves using a range of ABB products for energy distribution, building automation and battery solutions to achieve carbon neutrality at both its own and its customers’ sites by 2030. The firm’s manufacturing facility in Porvoo, Finland, for example, has already become carbon neutral and ABB is working with companies across the world to achieve the same.
Climate action technology company ClimateView is demonstrating its ClimateOS platform, which is built on Microsoft Azure. It allows customers to achieve carbon-negative goals by providing insights, third-party data and collaboration opportunities to help stakeholders and city planners deliver data-driven climate plans.
“With the help of Microsoft, we have and are continuing to build and deploy our cloud software and methodologies to help cities simulate their transition in their digital twin and execute their optimal pathway to zero, getting us closer to our joint-commitment to a low-carbon future,” said Tomer Shalit, founder of ClimateView.
In addition, smart lighting solution provider Schreder is highlighting its product Schreder Exedra, an advanced lighting management system that controls, monitors and analyses streetlights to make city lighting more sustainable. The solution is deployed on Microsoft Azure and uses data from the internet of things to help with decision-making and to adapt the colour of the light or build more dynamic lighting scenarios with passive infrared sensors or radars.
Genetec is also showcasing how it is using data-driven insights to protect smarter cities. Its Security Center platform allows users to manage security policies, monitor events and run investigations, while accommodating new data types within one interface. The platform provides correlated data so that security officers can expedite their decision-making and response times to improve the overall safety of people within a specific environment. The solution includes multi-task view, interactive maps, live cardholder verification, embedded call management and a dynamic dashboard, all with flexible deployment options.
SCEWC attendees have also been learning how IDEMIA’s digital identity solutions can improve the way citizens and city visitors interact with public and private sector service providers. Its contactless technology enables cities to process large numbers of people in a short amount of time. The firm argues that the use of biometrics is the most convenient way to improve public security, for example with mobile policing, video analytics and access control solutions.
AXON is participating at SCEWC to showcase its public safety technology, particularly its policing solutions. The firm has partnered with Microsoft to combine skills and technologies to bring better outcomes to public safety organisations. The firm’s products include TASER devices, body cameras, digital evidence management software and drones, all of which aim to accelerate justice by providing evidence for public leaders, while also keeping citizens safe.